Hi! I've got an 8 month male (He's still technically a puppy, and he certainly thinks he's a tiny little one) and currently my wife and I are in a discussion about if he can be a full time outdoor dog or not. My wife would like him to be fully outdoor as most Japanese houses simply do not let big dogs into the house. I'm a bit more hesitant, especially at night. Our temps drop to around -7C (19f) though -12 (10f) isn't unheard of. Now, Charlie has a fully insulated, two room, raised dog house with straw bedding and his favorite blanket. It's out of the direct wind and with the connecting tunnel to his kennel, doesn't get drafts in. I've been trying to find out any advice if this would be warm enough, if we need a heater, or just better to state when it reaches X degrees, he needs to come in to sleep. Any ideas/advice/numbers? How cold is too cold to stay out full time? Thanks!
You may want to check out the thread "Transitioning a Pup from Inside to Outside" - do a search an it will come up. I've not looked at it for a few days as I said my peace early on, but the discussion seems ongoing. I'm not going to sugar coat it: my personal opinion is that no dog should be an outdoor dog and that sticking a dog outside in -7C weather is flat out abusive if not deadly. I don't understand why you'd get a dog to begin with under these circumstances. When are you going to interact with him if he is huddled in his straw bedding for the next three months of winter while you are inside and warm? Even when the weather is decent again, how much time will your really spend outside with him? Dogs are social creatures - having his favourite blanket for company is not going to cut it. I know I sound harsh and don't want to put you off the Forum. This is simply a subject that I feel very strongly about. I really do hope you'll stick around and ask more questions and tell us about your pup. It's a great place to learn - I learn from the people here every day. Bottom line: please consider doing something outside the box of what other Japanese houses may do and instead do what is best for the health and happiness of Charlie.
I appreciate the reply, but simply put, that would be impossible due to the construction of Japanese houses (tatami)/customs of Japan (He doesn't LIKE having his feet washed, but he puts up with it, mostly because at the same time he gets the whole family there hugging and petting him). He'll never be a fully indoor dog. For now at least I've argued it back to the freezing mark. Since the weather is holding around that, Charlie spends his nights snoring, loudly, in his crate in the same room as the wood stove. Of course, he also spent all yesterday belly flopping into snow filled rice fields so he also seems to be enjoying the outside as well.
Really? You would have thought with all those high tech industries in Japan you could get a good washable fake tatami mat. I got some very good polypropylene sea grass mats in the UK (sea grass was a big deal here, but like tatami is hopeless in terms of keeping it clean). Very practical. Looks like the real thing but you can mop it.
